St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist 2025

"Guilt by association" is something we are very familiar with today. In our increasingly polarized culture, many are choosing to have little or nothing to do with those of contrary viewpoints, persuasions, and affiliations. It is as if we are afraid of being contaminated, or fear if we are seen with the wrong people, let alone agree with anything they say, we will be painted as being fully in league with them. There is nothing new in all this. In fact,the pious Jews of Jesus’ day would not have been caught dead in the house and at the table with tax collectors and others they considered disreputable riffraff. So, imagine the shock in the daythat Jesus often rubbed shoulders with “tax collectors and sinners”!